San Francisco v. New York (or other options) for African-American female (Oakland: how much, house)

[garyjohnyang]

Originally Posted by NOLA101

No, it doesn't. You're doing "SF" not the "Bay Area". The Bay Area has a significantly lower proportion of blacks than any other U.S. metro. It's quite obvious to those of us who have lived in other metros.

I get your point, but the census doesn't define the Bay Area as one metropolitan area, which renders your statement that the Bay Area has the lowest percentage of blacks of any major US metro (it isn't a metro) false.
List of U.S. metropolitan areas with large African-American populations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
You can see here that SF MSA has a higher concentration than Boston MSA.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by garyjohnyang

I get your point, but the census doesn't define the Bay Area as one metropolitan area, which renders your statement that the Bay Area has the lowest percentage of blacks of any major US metro (it isn't a metro) false.
List of U.S. metropolitan areas with large African-American populations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
You can see here that SF MSA has a higher concentration than Boston MSA.

Having lived in both Seattle and the Bay Area, it's obvious to me that the wiki stats are correct.

[Namethatisntinuse]

To answer the OP's question, you might want to give NY another try. And buy a good coat for the springter, fallumer, or whatever season mother nature and her bipolar-self decides she wants.

Originally Posted by GalacticDragonfly

Hahaha, okay, that's very strange. Last time I checked, Asians and Blacks clashed the most in New York riots and L.A. riots, can't remember too many riots between blacks and Asians in San Francisco. I know a crime spree on Asians by blacks sprung some tension back in 2007, but that's about it. Asians in the Bay Area don't concern themselves with anyone who they perceive not to be of interest or work hard, they have a long established history in San Francisco. They are the "black race" of the Bay Area, in the sense that they're the immediate minority, not black people.

My Asian friends (mostly the foreigners, the American born never had issues with) merely wanted to know why blacks might act in certain ways. It's not media, it's what they see. Asians in New York just seem to put up with it, to be honest, and don't dare question but keep to themselves. Asians in the Bay Area actually have a podium so they cannot be silenced as easily. I actually made attempts to understand foreign cultures local to me, rather than feeling victimized as a black person because every race in the world didn't immediately yield to my presence and my race's history.

But then again, generalizing racial groups is racist so I'm starting to think this thread was doomed from the start. Go live in Detroit or the South if black people make you feel comfortable. Oakland might be too diverse and open for you to understand, or go live in New York where everything is just swept under the rug. You attempt to live here, and you'll be challenged.

You say this as a person living in NY? What's swept under the rug?

[BayDude]

Originally Posted by MauiPartTimer

Judging the millions of people in the bay area from a few posts here would be a big mistake.


What I've observed (and I think she'd agree) is that race doesn't play as determining a role in the Bay Area as it is back east. In certain areas, there aren't many black people and in others there are far less. Either way, you tend to see more people mingling socially outside their race. It's VERY common for us to go out with a group of friends and have multiple races represented. Mixed-race couples are also very common and don't even get a second look.

.

I'll have to disagree. I've lived in the Bay Area my entire life, while interracial dating is a bit *more* common here than other areas, it's still not *common*. The only interracial couples that don't get double-takes or strong stares are white guys/asian girls. That's about the only combination you see the most.

[Bisaro TMF]

Originally Posted by BayDude

I'll have to disagree. I've lived in the Bay Area my entire life, while interracial dating is a bit *more* common here than other areas, it's still not *common*. The only interracial couples that don't get double-takes or strong stares are white guys/asian girls. That's about the only combination you see the most.

Asian women worship white men. I've mentioned this before.

[GalacticDragonfly]

Originally Posted by Namethatisntinuse

To answer the OP's question, you might want to give NY another try. And buy a good coat for the springter, fallumer, or whatever season mother nature and her bipolar-self decides she wants.



You say this as a person living in NY? What's swept under the rug?

As someone who used to live in Brooklyn (Bed-Stuy), yes, most people just ignore things and move on. People are too busy. I'll admit I was living with relatives for the short time of about a year, but the New Yorker mentality of "whatever, go away", is pretty obvious.
This isn't a bad thing either, I'm just saying the cultures of SF and NY are different.

[ladytee504]

I am a black woman and I have lived here off and on for the past 3 years. I don't find the dating scene to be terrible, but I will tell you that coming from New York, you are not going to see as many black people in San Francisco. I live in Oakland and commute into the city for work. A lot of the black professionals live in Oakland or other areas in the east bay. Dating can be what you make it here, but if you're open to other races it definitely gives you more options.

[Bisaro TMF]

Originally Posted by ladytee504

I am a black woman and I have lived here off and on for the past 3 years. I don't find the dating scene to be terrible, but I will tell you that coming from New York, you are not going to see as many black people in San Francisco. I live in Oakland and commute into the city for work. A lot of the black professionals live in Oakland or other areas in the east bay. Dating can be what you make it here, but if you're open to other races it definitely gives you more options.

The Blacks in SF have moved back down south or over to the east bay. If some idiot is willing to pay them a big money for their house of course it will be sold.

[PacificaViews]

Take a look at Emeryville. There's a great diversity of population, great shopping, and a short distance into downtown Oakland for things you might need, plus there's a Emery-Go-Round that takes you to BART. There's also a number of car-pool areas for commutes into the city. I like the apartments on the waterfront (used to manage a number of them there) called the Watergate apartments: swimming pools, walk on the bay, etc. but they are very 1970's in style.

One of my offices was located on Lake Merritt in Oakland, and I like that area too, and being able to get some exercise walking around the lake. There's more old world charm in that area.

In San Francisco, the Western Addition neighborhood is up and coming and has a black population there. Unfortunately, the bay area - as diversified as we like to think it is - still exhibits a "clustering" of races. I wish it wasn't like that, but it is.

[ZekeClem]

I moved here in November 2013 (from the South) and I can definitely attest to much of what you stated. I've also noticed that the racism comes from the Asian population (though certain subsets of Asians I also believe can genuinely 'understand' black culture) more than it does the white population.

I lived in San Francisco for one year and currently live in downtown San Jose. I plan on leaving California as soon as possible but in the mean time, I am moving to Oakland. (Who knows - maybe that will influence me to stay.) Anyway, I would echo the poster who suggested Houston (where I actually intend to move). It may not be known for its tech but it is still a huge city and will have tech jobs regardless. Also, Houston is one of the most diverse cities in America, as opposed to SF which is one of the most diverse if you don't include black people lol. Also, I think I read in an article that North Carolina has a growing tech sector, so you may want to consider that.

If you ultimately decide to move here, based upon what you said, your best bet would be Oakland. I think you would enjoy the social scene there a lot more and you could always make that quick trip to SF if you wanna hit up a more popular venue/event. I am also assuming you would be working in SF proper and not the peninsula as well, otherwise the commute would be hell. Lastly, the black social scene is definitely small, especially when it comes to the functions geared toward the professionals, so just a word of caution. Best wishes!